Follo Line

Follo Line
Ski Station serves as the southern terminus of the Follo Line. As part of the project, the Ski Station was rebuilt.
Overview
Native nameFollobanen
OwnerBane NOR
Termini
Service
TypeHigh-speed railway
SystemNorwegian railways
History
Opened11 December 2022 (2022-12-11)
Technical
Line length22 kilometres (14 mi)
Number of tracksDouble
CharacterPassenger
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification15 kV  16.7 Hz AC
Operating speed
  • 200 km/h (125 mph)
  • Planned:
  • 250 km/h (155 mph)
Route map

Legend
Drammen Line
 Oslo Central
Trunk Line
Loenga–Alnabru Line
Østfold Line
Blix Tunnel
Østfold Line
 Ski Station
Eastern Østfold Line
Østfold Line
This diagram:

The Follo Line (Norwegian: Follobanen) is a 22-kilometre (14 mi) high-speed railway between Oslo and Ski, Norway.

The line runs parallel to the Østfold Line, and is dimensioned for 250 km/h (155 mph). Most of the line, 19 kilometres (12 mi), runs in a twin-tube tunnel named the Blix Tunnel, which is the longest railway tunnel in the country. Construction started in 2015, and the line opened in 2022.[1][2] The Follo Line increased capacity from twelve to forty trains per hour along the South Corridor, and allows express and regional trains to decrease travel time from Ski to Oslo from 22 to 11 minutes. The line was projected to cost over 26 billion Norwegian kroner (NOK) in 2014,[3] but the final cost became 36.8 billion NOK when it was completed.[4][5]

The project was a continuation of the Norwegian National Rail Administration's (now Bane NOR) plan to build four tracks along the three main corridors out of Oslo; the Gardermoen Line was completed in 1998, and the Asker Line was completed in 2011. Between 1989 and 1996, the Østfold Line south of Ski to Moss was upgraded to double track and higher speeds. To take full advantage of this and allow the rest of the Østfold Line to be upgraded for high speeds, it was necessary to increase capacity through the bottleneck from Oslo to Ski.

The Follo Line is hoped to increase rush hour rail ridership by 63%, and increased freight on rail is hoped to remove 750 trucks daily from roads like E6 and E18.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Line opened was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NRK opening was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Juven, Olav (15 May 2014). "Follobanen får klarsignal". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  4. ^ "H.M. Kong Harald åpner Follobanen - Bane NOR". www.banenor.no (in Norwegian). Bane NOR. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference TV2 opening was invoked but never defined (see the help page).